MINNEAPOLIS - It's not every day musical theatre students get to do this.
“Getting to like interact with people who are living one of my dreams is - it's pretty cool,” says Burnsville High School sophomore Meta Lobben.
Around sixty high school students got the chance Tuesday to take part in a dance workshop with two cast members of the hit musical Hamilton, as part of the Spotlight Education Program, which helps grow and nurture musical theatre students.
“I see a lot of talented, energetic students here so I'm excited to teach them - the future leaders and artists of America,” said Tyler McKenzie, who’s in the ensemble for Hamilton. The ensemble appears in 46 of the 50 numbers in the show, he says.
The Tony Award-winning Musical is in the middle of its Minnesota premiere, running for six weeks at the Orpheum Theatre. Whether they've seen it or not, the show with a deep impact on the students we talked to.
“It changed me - finally seeing that musical after hearing all the hype about it. It was stunning,” says Alex Siegel, a senior at Moorhead High School.
“I'm seeing it in like a week and a half and I've never been more excited for anything in my life,” said Casey Hennessy, a junior at Burnsville High School.
“It was so amazing. Like, the best show I've ever seen. I cried four times,” said Lobben.
As McKenzie travels the country it’s a chance to deliver a message to students who hope to be in his shoes someday.
“No matter what you look like, no matter how you move, how you sound – there's a place for you in any of these shows that are happening now on Broadway. It may not even be written yet, but continue to take class, continue to train, continue to work on yourself and only yourself and how you are. Never try to change yourself – because there is a spot for you,” McKenzie says.